Delco public hearing set on latest plan for Franklin Mint site

Developers are taking a second crack at building on the Franklin Mint site, the former home of a coin-and-collectible company that occupies more than 150 acres of prime, undeveloped real estate along Baltimore Pike in Delaware County.

But the plan, which would create a town center with retail, housing, and a hotel with as many as 225 rooms, has drawn sharp criticism from residents who worry the development is too dense and could congest traffic in the area.

The Middletown Township Council will hold a public hearing on the plan at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Penncrest High School.

The council in 2006 blocked a similar plan for the site after a heated campaign by residents who adopted the slogan "No City."

This time, developers tried to include Middletown residents in the process. In August 2008, two dozen residents and business owners worked alongside developers, designers, and traffic and transit authorities on a revised plan.

The latest plan incorporates 173 acres, including 151 acres of the mint site as well as surrounding properties. The development calls for a walkable downtown with up to 1,253 residential units, a hotel, and a little more than a million square feet of new shops and offices. Green-space buffers would protect pedestrians from traffic along busy Baltimore Pike.

It's slightly smaller than the first plan, which included a 300-room hotel, 1.3 million square feet of retail space, and 1,300 residential units.

But for some residents, it's still too much for Middletown.

"The traffic impact alone will be detrimental to the township," said Anthony Ieradi, a member of Save Middletown, a group that opposes the development plans.

More than 900 people have signed a petition opposing the plan, Ieradi said.

In recent weeks and months, the tone of the debate has grown nasty. The development team received an anonymous, obscenity-filled letter telling them to get out of Middletown. Mark Dambly, part of the development team and a Middletown resident for more than 20 years, came home to a busted mailbox.

"Intimidation has no place in this process," Dambly said.

Ieradi said the Save Middletown group did not condone or endorse the behavior reported by Dambly and others.

At Tuesday's meeting, developers will ask the council to approve a zoning ordinance that will allow their plan to move forward. The developers would then submit their plan to the land-development process, estimated to take as long as 18 to 24 months.